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Mar 5th, 2008 at 20:28:21 - Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories (PS2) |
Entry #2--
Gameplay:
All of the characters you get introduced to have really interesting quirks to them, which adds to the appeal. They all have very distinct personalities, and are quite engaging.
While the actions in the battle system and the way you move, etc. are all very repetitive, they don't really get boring, because each stage has unique monsters to fight and you continually want to try to get farther along in the story to find out what happens next.
Creating characters is amazingly fun, one of the best merits of the game. I typically like to create lots of monsters in my party (which can be a problem if I need to do something which requires throwing), because there are so many awesome characters to make. Using the student/master relationship can also be really useful, and there is just so much going on in this game to learn about that it is really intense.
You can also start to attend the Dark Assembly, and ask senators to pass certain bills (creating characters, stronger/weaker enemies, more items in shops, etc). This is a really innovative idea, I think. Some bills are harder to pass than others, and you have to sometimes bribe senators into voting for your bill, which can be really fun (yet irritating).
Design:
The game provides a very enjoyable play experience, one that you can completely change based upon personal preference. If you want a more hardcore gaming experience, you can get it, but if you want a more casual experience, that is completely possible as well. This is something that is really cool about the game; it's quite flexible.
If you want, you can spend hours upon hours searching for better and better weapons, going into the Item World and making your own items have better stats, reincarnating characters for better stats and many, many other things. This is all really enjoyable, but it is totally possible to beat the game without doing these kinds of things, so Disgaea 2 can appeal to all sorts of gamers.
The character creation system also really enhances the game, and making it so that in order to get a better level of a certain class, you need to level up the previous level of it, only makes you want to play the game even more until you can create better versions of your favorite characters. This is really one of my absolute favorite things in the game, because there are so many options, and you always have something else to achieve.
The music for Disgaea is also really good, nothing that stands out particularly to me, but it's not annoying, and it's got pretty good structure and whatnot. Just not spectacular like some other games.
There is a huge amount of complexity to this game that looks, at first glance, pretty simple. But adding character creation, the Item World, and the Dark Assembly all creates a multifaceted play experience that is unlike any other.
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Mar 5th, 2008 at 20:01:41 - Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories (PS2) |
Summary: Disgaea 2 is a tactical RPG in which you play as Adell, the only human left in a world turned into demons. In order to progress through the game, the player must complete stages, unlocking more narrative after each one. Each new place starts a new "chapter" in the game, and you progress to the next chapter after beating the last stage.
Gameplay:
I started a new game since it's been a while, and I've forgotten a lot of the beginning of the game. The dialogue is hilarious, and very early on you get a good sense of Adell's character. The fact that everyone else in the town have been turned into demons and have no conscience only furthers the player's liking of the main character, since his morals are still intact. The game does an interesting job of forcing Rozalin in your party, though the idea of "male and female character stuck together and forced to adventure together" is a little cliche. There are also some 'deus ex machina' moments, but those are easily forgiven. The situations are always quite amusing, something this and the previous Disgaea have in common. There's a little allusion to Guilty Gear, too, with a "female" NPC named Bridget who tells you "Actually, I'm a guy," which is pretty humorous.
It's useful that Rozalin has never been outside of her mansion, and the game characters act as if they are explaining things to her, rather than Adell, who should (and does) know everything already. It's nice that they didn't use an "amnesia" thing or anything. It is also really nice that you get rewarded for buying more things in the shops/getting healed by eventually getting prizes/better items and such. It's better than just having to spend hard-earned money and getting nothing out of it.
The story really does keep you interested, even if it's not the MOST original story ever. It uses cliche and somewhat overused ideas but also twists them into interesting directions, so it isn't unspeakably boring or *totally* predictable.
The battle system itself isn't much different from the first Disgaea, or really from other games of this type, but it is engaging and really has improved upon a lot of the older games.
This entry has been edited 1 time. It was last edited on Mar 5th, 2008 at 20:07:31.
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Feb 21st, 2008 at 02:33:22 - Chrono Trigger (SNES) |
Entry #2--
Gameplay:
I really tend to get annoyed with games with that "random guy saves beautiful princess" storyline, but... I may make an exception for this game... because, at least it seems like Marle isn't completely helpless. She seems more a victim of circumstance than of "weak female-ness."(Also I thought her eyes were blue in the beginning? Somehow they magically changed when they went back in time? Or I'm crazy.)
Anyway, I am getting more and more drawn into the storyline. I like the characters in this game (Frog is so cool...), and it's becoming clear why it is so beloved. It's not a *super* cliche storyline, and it require research to tell if the parts that are cliche were that way when it was actually created, or if other games have just copied a lot from this.
Also, my love for the battle system only grows with each battle I fight. I can't understand why this battle system didn't get copied to death by other RPGs... Instead they tend to opt for the "you're in a line, enemies are in a line" approach... and... I don't understand why... It isn't until recently that games are really breaking out of that, and... yeah...
Design:
The music for this game is really well done (a lot of it I recognized because it was recycled in Chrono Cross, which perhaps enhanced my experience?). It suits the whole mood quite well, and is rather beautiful.
I love a lot of the subtleties that went into making this game, such as if you are "dashing" and run into somewhere you cannot move, and your character just stands there shaking his head. I thought that was a really nice touch.
The graphics really aren't bad, either. Especially for an older game. Everything is clear and well-defined and looks really nice. But older graphics have never really bothered me, as long as you can tell what is going on, so...
I think the pacing of the game (so far, at least) has been pretty good, too. Nothing so far has been extremely dragged out or too fast; the story seems to be progressing at an even, steady rate. Everything has also been laid out really well so that it is mostly clear as to what you need to do next. Perhaps some would find this too limiting, but I think that they did a superb job of it in Chrono Trigger.
This entry has been edited 2 times. It was last edited on Feb 21st, 2008 at 02:44:24.
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Feb 20th, 2008 at 20:53:18 - Chrono Trigger (SNES) |
Summary:
Chrono Trigger is an RPG in which you play as Crono, the main character. One aspect that sets it apart from other RPGs is the aspect of time travel in the game.
Gameplay:
I've never played Chrono Trigger, just Chrono Cross (which is in itself strange because normally I am pretty picky about playing games in order), so I was excited to play this because Chrono Cross is one of my all-time favorite games :)
The gameplay is pretty straightforward; the NPCs basically tell you what to do and you do it, but that's how RPGs tend to go :)
I really like the battle system; it's pretty different from other RPGs. The fact that using skills on enemies changes based upon where the enemies are standing is something that I find really innovative and unique (i.e. that if you target one monster in the middle of a line, you will hit only the first two, but if you target the furthest one, you will hit all three). This is something that really doesn't get used much in games, which is disappointing.
The plot so far seems pretty standard and somewhat predictable, but it's still fairly early on in the game, so I really don't know.
The world map is pretty nice, too; it's always nice when games actually tell you where you're going, even if it is a bit "unrealistic." Not that these games are exactly at the height of realism, anyway. I really do love the graphics, too; they're a lot better than I had expected them to be, and give a really nice mood to the game.
I can already tell that this will be a game that I will enjoy greatly; there are a lot of elements that I can tell were taken from this game to make Chrono Cross, so hopefully I will enjoy Chrono Trigger as much or more.
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